The present invention relates generally to a drilling bucket for excavating dirt, sand, rock or the like (collectively “spoils”) from beneath the ground surface.
Drilling buckets are well known devices used for excavating. A drilling bucket is similar in function to an earth auger in that it is rotated by a prime mover vehicle such as an excavator to produce a hole in the ground. In contrast to an earth auger, however, a drilling bucket does not convey dirt to the top of the hole while it is being rotated. Instead, a drilling bucket captures spoils in the bucket's cavity which is raised to the surface and emptied after it becomes full.
Drilling buckets typically have a hinged floor that can be opened automatically or manually to empty the captured dirt. Floors that open automatically typically requires the operator of the prime mover vehicle to actuate a crash plate which forcibly contacts the drilling bucket to mechanically release the floor latching mechanism. One problem with automatic release mechanisms is that crash plates are not uniform in size so that some crash plates are not properly aligned to actuate the mechanical automatic release linkage on some drilling buckets.
As is known in the art, most drilling buckets have two separate floor sections. The first floor section is adapted to rotate relative to the second floor section. In use, the drilling bucket is rotated by the prime mover vehicle in a first direction causing the first floor section to rotate behind the second floor creating one or more openings in the floor which are adapted to receive spoils as rotation by the prime mover is continued. When the bucket is full, the prime mover rotates the bucket in the opposite direction causing the opening(s) in the floor to close by rotating the first floor section to back to its original closed position.